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School Days of Hawthorne High
School Days of Hawthorne High was an arc run in the roleplay thread by WonderSquid and MobileLeprechaun. It is the ninth arc in an ongoing series. The plot was GameSpazzer's second (after Deluge) and co-GM MobileLeprechaun's first. School Days of Hawthorne High is GameSpazzer's creative spin on the cliche highschool AU setting, focusing on teenage versions of the roomians as they attend the mysterious Hawthorne High School. Things are seemingly idyllic until the characters begin to realize that something is not quite right with the world they inhabit, leading to a coordinated investigation effort lead by some of the teachers and students. The genre gradually shifts from a happy-go-lucky-slice-of-life to a deep and disturbing horror-mystery, surprising and perplexing many of the participants. Both GMs achieved a unique story development as the arc was primarily character driven, with each character pursuing their own leads and reacting to each revelation uniquely. Little outright action happens until the last quarter. Plot The inhabitants of the room are whisked away into alternate lives as high school students (some as teachers), in the sleepy town of Hawthorne, Maine. It is Monday morning, and everyone is on their way to school, whether to learn or to teach. The first few classes open and close, and computer teacher Mr. Touchdown decides to go for a walk in the hall to clear his head. As he strolls through the corridors, he notices that he cannot hear his own footsteps. He doesn't think much of it and returns to the classroom. A few classes pass and it's lunchtime. The many students collect their food and find a place to sit. Some eat with friends, and other, less fortunate students eat alone. Among the pack of hungry teenagers is Biker, who is planning a party. Harnessing the powers of the classic paper airplane, the invitation is released to the populace. Elsewhere, a Jake English hurls an orange in the direction of a group of students. Faster than you can say "after school special", it's all-out lunchroom warfare. Soon enough, Mr. Touchdown takes notice of the tumultuous riot, and is just in time to lay down the law. A table flip and an ass kicking later, the chaos is tamed and the principal is alerted. Everyone gets a stern talking-to and proceeds to their final classes. Homeroom wraps up, and everyone goes home. While Biker and Allison set up for the evening's festivities, Travis runs into some trouble when he realizes that he's flat broke and his rent is due tomorrow. With some smooth talk and outright begging, he convinces Dr. Smith to let him move in and start up a private detective agency together. The two bust a cake-stealing criminal who is suspiciously similar to Lex Luthor. Later on, the party begins. They eat pizza, watch Con Air, drink adult beverages, general high school party stuff. The partygoers have a ton of fun and head home. The next day everyone wakes up and goes to school. Budding detectives Dr. Smith and Mr. Touchdown take notice of History teacher Mr. Morooka's absence. Theories are passed back and fourth, but they decide that actual concrete evidence is what they really need. After school, Travis does some research on the internet and acquires Morooka's address. He reaches his destination to find that nobody is home, yet the car is still in the driveway. Mr. Morooka never seemed like much of a jogger. The door is locked, and Travis decides to abandon the mission. But on the way back to his bike, he spots a rock. Not just any rock. A special rock. An unfortunate incident occurs and the rock ends up through Morooka's window. Shocked by the twisted ways of fate, Travis takes this opportunity and steps through the newly shattered window. He advances into the master bedroom, and makes a startling discovery. An odd symbol◊ has been scrawled all over the walls. He takes a few photos and scans the rest of the house. Nothing out of the ordinary. Back at the apartment him and Doc discuss the findings. Travis suspects gang/cult activity, while Dr. Smith concludes that it's just his strange taste in decor, and suggests that they wait until something new comes to surface before taking any further action. Travis has other ambitions. He whips up a batch of symbol-covered fliers to place around town: "HAVE YOU SEEN THIS SYMBOL? LET US KNOW! MEET US AT apartment address here." Elsewhere, Biker is investigating an uncanny discovery. Nothing at the Hawthorne Mall is priced. Not the food, not the clothes, nothing. The cashiers didn't even notice until he pointed it out. He logs into a BBS chatroom and asks a group of conspiracy theorists what it might mean. None of them have a clue, but wish him luck nonetheless. The following morning comes. It is Wednesday. Everyone arrives at school, learns, and goes home. At the apartment, Travis gets a call from a distressed Cloud, who is asking for his notebook back. Travis has no idea where it is or what it looks like. He hangs up and makes his way to the Strife residence, bringing Doc along. Greeted by Mr. and Mrs. Strife, they are directed to Cloud's room, which is filled with what must be hundreds of detailed drawings of people, impossible places, vehicles and creatures. One of the drawings on his wall is familiar.◊ Cloud eventually finds his notebook in his backpack and is anxious to have Doc and Travis leave. Meanwhile, Max and Biker have discovered something strange◊ imprinted on a newspaper article telling of a sewer collapse that killed a family of 5. Max says that the symbols are on fliers around town, too. And the fliers came first. They call the number on the flier and speak to Travis, who shortly arrives at Biker's place to talk it over. The two catch up and decide to file a missing persons report for Mr. Morooka. Travis heads into town, looking for the police station. Oddly enough, there is no police station to be found. Travis heads back to Biker's house, weighing their options. He decides to leave town, but the only road out is closed off for construction. He attempts to go through on foot, but is halted by a heavy-duty barricade. He rams the car into the blockade, only to find himself smack dab in the middle of a pool of freshly-laid tar. Without at ride, he presses forward on foot, but instantaneously blacks out. When he wakes up, he is in a tow office. It must've been a dream, right? Hastily returning to the tunnel, Travis finds that it is now bricked off. The next day, Biker, Tessa, Solaire, Allison, Peacock, Gilda, Doc and Travis stage a meeting on the school roof and get up to speed on the situation. It is discovered by Tessa that the symbol had also appeared in her English textbook. Travis heads off to ask Mr. Nichols about the symbol, while Gilda and Biker search for some form of air travel. With Travis, Mr. Nichols doesn't seem to have any clue why the symbol is there or what it is. Travis shows him the newspaper and the photos of Mr. Morooka's bedroom, but he still doesn't have any insight. Afterwards, Travis reports his findings to Tessa, who informs him that she has access to the town archives. The lead looks promising, but they can't investigate until Monday, when the archives actually open. Also, Tessa has Cloud's school bag, which she hands over to Travis. In it, they find a drawing of a scary-looking old man, who turns out to be a hobo Travis saw at a bar. With Gilda and Biker, no dice. No airports, no helicopters, nothing. Later that evening, Biker logs back onto the BBS chatroom and spills the beans. A mysterious user responds: "I can help you". Biker inquires, but the user doesn't feel comfortable talking about it there. After a goodbye, he logs off. Disappointing. Elsewhere, Travis is breaking into the school. Specifically, into Mr. Nichols' room. After a brief scan, he moves on to the principle's office. He begins to feel dizzy, and is now outside of the school with Cloud, who is staring blankly at nothing. Travis asks what he's doing out so late, and Cloud simply responds: "You helped me with school work." Travis says he did not. Cloud insists that he did, and begins to walk off. Travis follows him and asks who the old hobo in his notebook is. Cloud tells him it's his doctor. Travis continues to question him. It's really not that pretty. After that incident, Travis decides to hotwire a car and ram it into the school at 100 miles per hour. He blacks out and wakes up in front of the school, which is now completely undamaged. He gets an idea and sets his phone down to film the school. He hotwires another car, and repeats the previous experiment. Unsurprisingly, it yields the same results. He checks the video, only to find that it's 30 minutes worth of still footage. Disappointed, Travis heads to the hospital in search for Hobo Doc. Sadly, it's too late and the hospital is closed to visitors. By this time, everyone is at home, sound asleep. The next morning, it's Friday. Talk of the big game that evening is everywhere, and nobody wants to shut up about it. Everyone is at school, except for Travis. He's at the clinic, asking to make an appointment with the Hobo Doctor. He needs a child to make an appointment, so he leaves, on his way to Mr. Nichols' house. There's no way of getting in without looking like a crook, and he's out in the open. He gives up and walks through the neighborhood, trying to think of somewhere else to go. He notices that everything seems strangely flat, almost as if it's not there properly. And again, he cannot hear his footsteps. Cloud unexpectedly materializes behind him and makes a break for it after feebly trying to dodge questions. He is swiftly apprehended and claims that he was in his room not a second ago. Although skeptical and throughly pissed off, Travis decides to take Cloud's word for it and instructs him to go to school. A while later, school lets out for the day, and everyone begins gearing for sports . Those in the know meet up and discuss a stakeout to be had at the tunnel. They want to see if and how the opposing sports team gets into town since the only way in is blocked. Biker and Gilda head off on their own to investigate the sewers, while Travis goes to confront a man on on Lincoln Street, who allegedly owns a firearm. Those outside of the know congregate in the stands and anxiously await the spectacle. The town becomes strangely quiet as denizens fill the bleachers. Travis finds the house deserted and is able to pilfer the owner's shotgun. Max, meanwhile, looks around for Karkat during halftime, wanting to settle a score with him. He gets into a heated conversation with Peacock, which escalates into a full-blown fight. Peacock manages to best Max and walks away victorious. Meanwhile, Merit meets up with Biker and Gilda, bringing along a distraught Cloud. She tells them that Cloud cannot find his parents and that nearly everyone else in the city has vanished as well. The four of them decide to talk it over at Starbuck's and try to convince Cloud to cooperate with them. They promise him that if they find any sign of his parents, they'll inform him. They more or less gain his trust. Gilda tells Travis and Doc via text message that everyone in town has disappeared. The two teachers are thoroughly freaked out, and Travis reminds her to track the away team out of town. When they get there, it's too late, and The Stingers are nowhere to be seen. Disappointed, they regroup at the tunnel by Travis' trashcan hobo fire to discuss their next move. There, Travis proposes a theory of his: the town of Hawthorne is actually a computer simulation, and everyone is either trapped within, part of the program, or both. It definitely explains the resetting. The next morning, almost everyone heads to the apartment. After some discussion, they decide to jot down all the evidence they've collected so far onto a whiteboard. Biker suggests that someone should commit suicide as an experiment, but not everyone agrees. The controversy sparks a quick scuffle. Luckily, nobody is seriously hurt. Outside of the apartment, Gilda and Biker are waiting for a Dover Falls pizza delivery boy, hoping to get a ride out of town. Through less than legal means, they hitch a ride, and demand that he take them to the next town. The delivery boy can't find his way back, and they get lost in the outskirts of Hawthorne. Low on leads, Biker, Gohan, Allison, Gilda and Doc break back into the school, desperate for clues. In the principle's office, Biker has found the principle's hard drive. And on it, word documents loaded with gibberish. Everyone packs into the stolen van and goes back to the apartment to discuss the recent findings. 2 days later, and it's finally Monday. Some go to school, others do not. Those that do go notice that history class is no longer on the schedule. None of the teachers even seem to remember it. Gilda and Travis have decided to check out the town archives that Tessa mentioned. Inside, they view the files labeled under their names. Something's not entirely right. Some files contain information about the person, and others are completely blank. Travis begins separating the blank files from the normal ones. He picks up every blank he can find and begins to leave. Strangely enough, there is no door. There are, however, windows, just slightly out of reach. After a ton of bookshelf stacking, he and Gilda make a daring escape. Everyone receives a text from Gordon, telling them to meet up at the mall. He brings everyone up to speed on the history situation. Travis eventually arrives and shows everyone the files. He theorizes that everyone with a blank record is a real person, while all others are part of the simulation. Doc argues that they'll need more evidence before they start declaring who is and who isn't real. Everyone goes home. The following morning, Travis wakes up and heads to the clinic, but not before conquering his sworn enemy◊ in an intense duel of the ages. Gilda meets up with him at the clinic, and so begins Operation Interrogate Hobodoctor. They head in and find an examination room, occupied by Cloud and the man from the bar. Inside, he is seen injecting a yellow fluid into the back of Cloud's neck. Travis kicks the door in and demands that the physician explain himself. The man says that he's also noticed the happenings, and that they're running out of time, but he can help. He says for them to meet him by the intersection on Lincoln Street, and soon leaves. A while later, Peacock, Imuka, Gilda, Travis and Doc meet up with Hobodoc at the intersection. The rest are back investigating the sewers. The strange man tells them to follow him into an abandoned building, specifically, the one by the sewer collapse. Inside, the walls are plastered with the symbol. The man tells them that he thinks he's found a way out. They proceed down into the basement, where there is a huge black metal door. Suddenly, he takes Imuka hostage, a gun trained on her head. He tells them that there is only one way out. Just one. He is soon disarmed by Travis and tackled by Gilda. They successfully knock him out, and turn their attention to the door. With the sewer group, they notice that the ceiling has begun to collapse, along with the floor. There's nothing beneath it except for an endless black void. They try running, but are eventually swallowed up into the endless darkness. At the abandoned house, Travis opens the door, met with the same black void as the sewer team. They are all sucked in. Soon enough... ...Everyone wakes up in their beds. It is now Wednesday. Time to go to school! Except nobody's there. Everyone arrives at the apartment, which has now been trashed by Travis. There, Kevin pins the blame on Cloud. He says that every time something out of the ordinary happens, he's there. Gilda says that he's in no place to pin suspicion on anybody, considering he's one of the residents of Hawthorne with a document. Doc says that Cloud's just as normal as anyone else. Annabelle and Imuka don't seem to agree with Kevin either. Travis does, though. To an extent. He says that they shouldn't blindly trust someone like Cloud, and that he's definitely not the same as anyone else. Right then, Cloud disappears into thin air. Outside the apartment, he reappears. Biker accuses Kevin of the stunt, and Kevin accuses Biker of being in cahoots with Cloud. Things begin to get really heated as Kevin punches Biker in the face. Or rather in the helmet. The entire apartment is filled with punching, kicking, screaming and the gnashing of teeth. Travis is quick to dismiss the fight, and commands everyone to line up. He goes down the line, punishing those who he deems guilty. Gilda's middle finger is broken, Biker is knee'd in the nuts and Tessa is Kinniku Buster'd. Of the three, Tessa fares the worst and suffocates due to her collapsed lung. The next morning, everyone heads to school. Not to learn, but to investigate. Everything is eerily quiet. No teachers or students. None of the lights are even on. They begin searching every room they can find. Nothing. After the first floor is declared empty, they head upstairs. When they get there, they see a figure at the end of the hallway enter the english room. Inside, Mr. Nichols is facing the blackboard, clicking away on his button. They tell him to start explaining. He says that he is no longer Mr. Nichols. He is now Mr. Hand. He turns around, wearing a deranged smile. Biker hurls a knife at him, but it stops in mid air. They all decide it's a good time to run. Nichols follows after them. They head toward the front door, soon to discover that it is now locked. They head for the woodworking shop, as it is the nearest exit. Sadly, the woodworking exit is locked as well. Once everyone is in, Doc locks the entrance to buy them some time. Their safety is short lived, as Nichols busts down the door. Luckily, the exit door is destroyed with power tools just in time for everyone to escape. Mr. Nichols follows them outside, but is set on fire by the sunlight. A roundworm like creature emerges from his chest. He and the creature fall to the ground, lifeless. Gilda goes off to investigate Nichols' house. Travis gets the same idea, and the two decide to burn down his house. They douse the whole place in gasoline and set it ablaze. It's pretty cool. After that, everyone heads to the mall for supplies, just in case of another psychic vampire ambush. They all grab weapons, armor, and a bite to eat. Kevin seems to have disappeared, and when the attempt to text him, it reads "INVALID NUMBER". It seems as though people are slowly but surely disappearing. Nobody can find Charlie, or Max, or Kim. Merit's with them, though. Travis suggests that they go check Kevin's place. At Kevin's house, there is no Kevin to be found. Up in his room, Gilda, Biker and Karkat find a comic book. On the cover can be seen a superhero with the symbol◊ on his chest. In the basement, Solaire and Travis find pillows are layed around the floor, along with a small blanket tent. The whole place is very cozy. Solaire doesn't plan on working with Travis. He's come to get revenge for Tessa. He raises his shovel, offering Travis to fight him. He accepts, and soon has Solaire in a bearhug. Gilda marches down the basement and tells Solaire to step away. She then shoots Travis in the knees, crippling him. Outside, the sky has turned white, and the world is disappearing. Houses and trees fly up into the sky, fizzling out of existence. With nowhere else to go, everyone rushes down into the basement. They discover a metal door, similar to the one inside the house on Lincoln Street. Everyone packs inside. This is what they see.◊ Everyone travels down the tunnel. Eventually they find a room with a giant glowing wall, circuitry lacing the entire thing. A small podium stands in front of it. A small slit opens up in the wall, leading into a massive underground amphitheatre, with an odd, metal sphere at the centre. Kevin is seen standing in front of it, wearing an angry expression. Everyone is shocked. Kevin explains. They try to approach him, but they are blocked by an invisible wall. To the side is seen an unconscious Hobodoctor, who actually looks a lot like Kevin. Doc tells Kevin that he can help him, and eventually talks him into bringing them all home. Everyone has their old memories and original bodies restored. Doc takes Kevin and Hobodoc home. Roll credits. Player Characters * Allison by Tatsumar * Anabel by Lilqueendaisy * Biker by Thespacephantom * Cloud Strife by GameSpazzer * Doctor 9 by SR 3 NORMANDY * Gilda by Higginbid * Gohan by Randomman5 * Gordon Freeman by MobileLeprechaun * Imuka by Imca * Jake English by rockmanx * Karkat Vantas by Rivux * Kevin by GameSpazzer * Margaret Moonlight by Trip * Noel Vermillion by Jamdat369 * Peacock by LatverianBadger * Solaire of Astora by Eldritchseer * Thaumaturge by Pentigan * Travis Touchdown by MacDuffyCategory:Arcs